This afternoon I returned from a long weekend in France and Switzerland. I just want to share these images with you because they will form a precious memory for me. I bring my camera along especially for that reason: to capture great memories. I can take great photo’s with my mobile phone, but let me explain to you why that just won’t do.

Springtime in Les Carroz d’Araches

I studied at the university of Groningen from ’88 to ’90. While there, I met a lovely girl and a great guy. They did not know each other, but I introduced them to each other, and love was born. That wasn’t my intent, but life sometimes works that way. They married and we remained good friends through the years. In fact, he and I worked together for a number of years before I became a photographer. They now live in Switzerland. Last week they both turned 50 (they were born on the same day). This they celebrated in a lovely inn in the French Alps, in a place called Les Carroz d’Araches (near Flaine). Here are some photos of our time together.

Click on the pictures to see them larger. There is a little text with each image. The blog post continues below the images.

On to Winterthur, Switzerland

After my time in Groningen I worked for a few years and then decided to go back to school. This time I went to Tyndale Theological Seminary in Amsterdam. While there I met Mike, and we became good friends. Mike was an American who had been raised in Italy. After Tyndale he went on to study theology at the university of Fribourg, Switzerland, and eventually left with a Ph.D. He is now the pastor of a reformed church in Winterthur, Switzerland.

I have kept in touch with Mike, and since I was going to be in the area, he invited me down. It was so much fun to see him. Here are some photos of his church, and yes, there’s Mike. He is one cool cat, very hip and modern and all — and yet it is obvious he is really good at what he does. So much fun to see how your friends ‘land’ in their respective lives.

A celebration of friendship

This blog is a celebration of friendship. As I drove home, I was so grateful for the wonderful and amazing friends I have been able to make through the years. I brought a camera along, with the point of capturing these memories. I know that in future years I will look back at these photo’s, and remember this weekend with great memories.

My advice: capture your memories!

You may wonder why I post such a personal post on my blog. There is a point I wish to make. To my readers, I urge you to make photo’s. Not just with your mobile phone, but with an actual camera. Take good photo’s, and keep them carefully! I am concerned that wherever I go, I see people take photos with their mobile phone. Now, don’t get me wrong: mobile phones these days take great photos. But my concern is that these photos will simply disappear — because photo’s are not properly backed up, and we switch phones every two years . I fear that many years from now lots of people will wake up one day and realise they have no images to hang their memories on. So, dear reader, invest in a camera, and bring it along, and photograph the things you want to remember!